letters to the editor

Ronald, 

I have to agree with much that Rob is saying (although maybe he is a little too forceful about it), the evidence i have indicates that abuse is widespread. It is hard for me to reconcile and i am sure there are a lot of good people in the military but i feel it is not so much a problem of the military but the American culture/society itself and this is reflected in the military. So try not to take it personally. You are in the military, but you are an outlier as you are aware and even have made preparations for a colllapse in the dominant socioeconomic system, but i am not sure if you fully accept the reality that the military is and will be used to sustain this dominant system even when doing so goes against your own values. This is a tough choice for you.  

Do not take what Rob is saying as a personal attack. Its nothing personal simply the way that modern systems operate. Governments and modern institutions are not about people but power and control over the many by the few. There are a lot of good people in the law enforcement/military and even the intelligence community but they are fighting a losing battle and they are reluctant to face that because it means accepting that their commitment to the government and these institutions is not reciprocated by the institutions themselves. 

The objective of these institutions is not about human empowerment, peace, justice and democracy, it is about breaking people and getting them to submit to the dominant paradigm (which is basically when boiled down to its true essence little more than greed, domination and war) one way or another either through ideology, propaganda or coercion. The strategy of first resort is public relations, advertising, politicians and meda, and if that does not work then they call in the militaries and polices forces (strategy of last resort). 

 

here is something from the Washington Post:

Excessive Force

The 24-page Red Cross report describes a pattern of excessive force used by U.S. soldiers during raids at homes or businesses, frequently occurring after midnight. The Red Cross wrote that "ill-treatment during capture was frequent" and that it often included "pushing people around, insulting, taking aim with rifles, punching and kicking and striking with rifles."

Such tactics, which "seemed to reflect a usual modus operandi," the Red Cross report says, "appeared to go beyond the reasonable, legitimate and proportional use of force required to apprehend suspects or restrain persons resisting arrest or capture."

Most of the time, according to an assertion contained in the report and corroborated by former prisoners, U.S. soldiers arrested all the men found in a suspect's house. Most of those detained, judging by a sample of prisoners and their descriptions of fellow inmates, have been young to middle-aged men from Baghdad and the Sunni Triangle, the area north and west of the capital that is the heart of the anti-occupation resistance.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1802&e=1&u=/washpost/20040511/ts_washpost/a15492_2004may10

Jeff

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